karma is going to get all of us sooner or later =/

 

pfff karma hates me. I helped a old man fix his blown rad hose on the side of a highway. Got a ticket for going 6 over on the way home. 6 OVER?..lol court waived the ticket though.

 

The reason I said don't ever feel bad and charge what is necessary is because people catch wind of your kind heart and you subsequently start getting phone calls from every Tom, Dick, and Harry that heard you work on cars for free!

In college I would change oil for people for the cost of materials so it's not a foreign concept, I just have had negative experiences after college with everyone wanting to look at their car.

Charging half or even less than half of your local labor rate is fair IMHO, and it keeps the freeloaders at bay.

Also, if money weren't tight for you I could see not charging anything. But as you said it's a bit of a drive and you don't know how long it will take just yet either.

 

i am with tripleblackblazer on this one....i do not charge family, friends however.
if its simple then pizza and beer, now if i am replacing ball joints tie rods and stuff like that then yeah i charge or i have them do something for me.
money is tight for them and me, they get a great deal on labor and i get gas money for the week. its a win win.
yes, unfortunately, if you kind work does spread then you will have lots of "friends" that need help.

 

Yea I have been through this same thing alot of times , it feels great to help other people out but no good deed goes unpunished . I say this because I have helped people out for free , and bought the parts through my work and travelled to her house to fix her car in -20 degree weather and have not even been paid back for the parts that I paid for out of my own pocket . And then a couple months later has the nerve to call back and want me to do brakes rotors and axle shafts because she was going on vacation . I know most people are not like this , but some are .

 

Dang man, that's bad. Sorry to hear that. I hate people that take advantage of you because they think they can get away with it. Ugh...

 

This is a classic case. Why I only work free for close family.

 

As far as all the people I know, including myself, not a single person has ever been taken advantage of...

without that person knowing they were being taken advantage of. Doing a favor for someone has it's own rewards. Doing a favor for a friend of a friend/family member, same thing. Having the same person asking for favors without any type of return to you?

Who's fault is that? This is where you find out the true character of folks.

 

Worked out great. had em out and changed in 20 minutes. Fixed her issues. Fair warning to anyone that does a oil change on one of those things is the filter SUCKS to get too.


Also,while i was there i wired up a outside light and fixed a overground pool pump. She GAVE me a club cadet riding lawnmower for free! Needs a battery and 2 tires. SWEET! Il have pics of the lawnmower later this week. I gotta go back with my ultility trailer and get it.

 

LOL YES! it was. trying to find some info on these things. Ive NEVER owned a riding mower. Anyone know anything much about hydro trannys for these things? I have a date with google tonight.